“Can strategists not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 6 – Yellow Turban Rebellion, Tian Family Fortress
Qiao Yan had a plan in her mind, so she slept soundly in the Yellow Turban camp.
The system wanted to scoff at her for being overly optimistic, but judging by the reactions of those around her the next day, Qiao Yan’s actions clearly didn’t raise any eyebrows.
Even amidst the chaos of the late Han Dynasty and the subsequent endless struggles of the Three Kingdoms and the Jin, the people of this era still pursued grace and demeanor.
Wang Xianzhi’s calm demeanor in the face of danger became a beautiful story, clearly not just a one-off event.
Liang Zhongning gathered the remaining troops overnight and saw none other than this “Zheng Xuan’s esteemed disciple” stepping out of the tent, radiating vigor even in her coarse clothing, unable to hide her noble aura.
Of course, if Qiao Yan were to assess herself, she’d say she was far from a true noble.
According to her original memories, the Qiao family in Yanzhou didn’t have overly demanding expectations regarding etiquette and upbringing. Qiao Yan’s own scattered understanding of the rituals of the Han Dynasties, filtered through a millennium of changes, certainly could be filled with errors.
But combining these two factors to trick Liang Zhongning, this Yellow Turban Commander, seemed no problem at all.
At least for now, he didn’t perceive this young girl, who looked decent in daylight, as an easy target.
Those originally sharp eyes, now assessing the Yellow Turban soldiers around, took on a more compelling stance.
“How many people did you bring this time, Commander?” Qiao Yan asked, adjusting her sleeves.
Liang Zhongning replied, “More than eight hundred.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw her lips curve slightly, as if mocking.
But before he could react, she continued, “Since the Commander can capture Puyang City and lead the Yellow Turban Army, it stands to reason you’re not completely clueless about military strategy. Have you not heard that Sun Tzu said, in times of ten, surround; in five, attack; when doubled, divide; when in enemy territory, fight; if outnumbered, flee; otherwise, evade? May I ask, how many people are there in Tian Family Fortress?”
Stunned by her barrage, Liang Zhongning hesitated before replying, “About a thousand?”
Qiao Yan wasn’t surprised he couldn’t give an exact number.
Since Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, population censuses had become a difficult task, with noble families colluding with bandits to murder officials, particularly prevalent in Qing, Xu, You, and Ji provinces, and Yanzhou had its fair share of powerful families too.
Land annexation had reached its peak at the end of the Han, and it was extremely hard to gauge the private armed forces hidden among the powerful families based just on their fortresses.
Yet, even so, Liang Zhongning, bringing eight hundred men to poke at a Tian family with at least a thousand people, was indeed quite a talent.
Liang Zhongning felt a bit annoyed.
Even if he didn’t quite understand what she was rambling about with Sun Tzu’s sayings, he got the gist of the latter part—
Since you’re outnumbered, you should either flee or evade, meaning there was no need to fight.
He raised his brows and asked, “Is this really what you want to tell me after a good night’s sleep?”
To be honest, he didn’t entirely pin his hopes on this young girl’s shoulders for victory.
If it weren’t for Zheng Xuan’s repute and the fact that he was leading a ragtag team back to Puyang, he wouldn’t feel so reluctant, nor resort to such coercive measures to get Qiao Yan to devise a plan, effectively treating a dead horse like a live one.
After a night of cooling off, he felt a bit like he was acting foolishly.
With such mixed emotions, if this girl had come right out insisting they could win, he’d be even more skeptical.
But now that she said they shouldn’t fight, his stubbornness sparked up.
Fight! Of course, they should!
Who says they should flee just because they’re outnumbered?
He hadn’t studied Sun Tzu’s tactics, but he’d heard enough in plays about how the Battle of Julu wasn’t unwinnable just because of numbers.
Besides, most of his troops were young soldiers, while the opponents had a mix of ages, making it seem like an uneven matchup, if viewed from outside the fortress.
Of course, that incredibly strong guy was a whole different story.
“I never said that! I was just reasoning with you, Commander. Let’s just go check the fort!”
After finishing, Qiao Yan waved her hand, signaling him to clear a path, as she confidently stepped out of the tent.
After a night of rest, she had regained enough strength to make it to the Tian Family Fortress without issue.
Liang Zhongning was a bit miffed at her evasive attitude, but upon thinking it through, he felt he hadn’t really lost out.
Since the Tian family was guarding the fortress, they wouldn’t recklessly attack. If what she proposed had no basis for execution, he could easily ignore it, and at worst, they’d just be delayed in returning to Puyang.
With that realization, he mounted his horse and followed her out.
However, while he rode, most of the Yellow Turban soldiers he brought were still foot soldiers.
In those times, the ones who could maintain cavalry were either wealthy enough to afford horses and supplies or belonged to the regional armies of northern You, Bing, Yong, and Liang provinces; obviously, the Yellow Turban Army didn’t fit that bill. Even Liang Zhongning, the commander, could only be considered mediocre when it came to mounted combat skills.
The whole group made their way toward the fortress at the pace of foot soldiers.
He slowed his horse down to match pace alongside Qiao Yan, who seemed much shorter when standing with the infantry, and casually asked, “How well do you understand the defenses of this fortress?”
Qiao Yan countered, “May I ask if there are any towers or high structures within the Tian Family Fortress?”
Liang Zhongning’s expression softened a bit.
Clearly, such a question was not something an amateur would ask.
He replied, “Not really. There are only the outer defensive walls and watchtowers. We’ve asked some tile workers in Puyang City; the Tian Family Fortress was built fairly recently and still hasn’t been fully completed. They have only stored last year’s harvest along with some prior supplies inside.”
This was obviously good news.
Later generations classified fortresses into three types: castle-style, courtyard-style, and tower-style, with the latter two featuring high towers for command and firepower support. If the Tian Family Fortress had such structures, even Qiao Yan herself wouldn’t feel optimistic about breaking through.
It’s worth noting that northern fortifications had exceptional defensive capabilities when facing irregular troops and Yellow Turban bandits in the early stages.
Not to mention the 郿坞 that Dong Zhuo later built, which could be compared to a small city; just in the area of Yanzhou and neighboring Yu Province, there are records of two extremely famous fortifications clashing with large armies.
One of which was Xu Chu’s battlefield achievement.
At that time, Xu Chu had yet to join Cao Cao…
In my hometown of Qiao County, we built a fortress with the clan’s strong men to fight against the Yellow Turban Bandits from Runan’s Gebei.
With over ten thousand Yellow Turbans defending the fortress and under a hail of arrows and rocks, it was nearly impossible for them to breach our defenses.
Another skirmish occurred when Lü Bu attacked Yanzhou, relying on the fortress to sturdy our defense against the assault from Li’s family from Juyi.
In this battle, Li Jin from the Li clan even managed to defeat Lü Bu, the formidable tiger of the world.
This just goes to show, if a fortress can hold its own, breaking through with sheer force is not going to be easy, particularly when everyone is coordinated.
“If it only had high walls and watchtowers, it would be easier,” Qiao Yan continued.
“Generally, to quickly seize a fortress, there are only two methods. The first is to dig a secret passage to launch a surprise attack from below. If any of the rebel leaders’ soldiers are experienced in this, it’s worth a shot.”
Liang Zhongning shook his head, “That plan is not feasible. I’ve heard of this method before, but Tian Family Fortress maintains strict vigilance against their surroundings by using the strategy of solid walls and clear fields. If we really want to dig a tunnel, we’d have to start from a much greater distance. It would be more trouble than it’s worth.”
However, Qiao Yan didn’t show any disappointment; she simply said, “Then we have only one option left: to trick them into opening the fortress.”
Liang Zhongning looked doubtful, “But I’ve already clashed with the Tian family. They have high walls, sturdy crossbows, and an unparalleled general. How could we possibly trick them out?”
Qiao Yan replied, “That’s where I come in.”
Liang Zhongning didn’t miss the flicker of dissatisfaction mixed with pride in her eyes as she said this.
But despite her young age, she clearly had good control over her emotions.
Seeing her quickly suppress that annoyance, Liang Zhongning asked, “Do you still remember the promise you made to me before?”
He responded without a second thought, “Of course I remember. If we can break the fortress, the food and riches inside will be my spoils of war. I can slay anyone among the Tian family who bullies commoners, but the rest must be let go. If they have nowhere to go and wish to join my Yellow Turban ranks, you won’t need to ask again.”
He waved his hand dismissively, “I remember all that, but let’s talk when we actually win.”
Qiao Yan retracted her gaze from him and looked ahead, her steps steady, “Don’t worry, General. Once we wrap up things here, I’ll get back to Gaomi as soon as possible.”
This way, according to our agreement, she certainly wouldn’t do anything half-hearted.
Last night, we camped only four or five miles from Tian Family Fortress. After roughly a quarter of an hour’s walk, a vast piece of land appeared in Qiao Yan’s view.
In the distance, surrounded by solid walls, lay the Tian Family Fortress.
This fortress was ideally built in a high location for easy defense against attacks, but Puyang lies on the loess plains of the Yellow River, flat as a pancake.
Finding such a high ground was tough, so the Tian family opted instead to build away from the official roads yet near a water source.
The Tian family probably thought that this location would support Puyang City like a protective umbrella; even if bandits attacked, they would only need to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Little did they know, with the Yellow Turbans rising, the inner supporters within Puyang City teamed up, and they ended up losing it to the Yellow Turbans. Ironically, the Tian Family Fortress became a place of refuge outside the city.
Just as Liang Zhongning said, Qiao Yan looked up and noticed that this fortress lacked high towers, instead having a few watchtowers and corner towers surrounding the thick fortress walls.
Perhaps it was also due to the rushed construction, as the surrounding moats were only half-dug, showcasing a bit of a messy look.
But scattered around even more were the arrows shot during the two days when Liang Zhongning led the attack on the fortress, along with the corpses of the Yellow Turban soldiers left behind previously.
Of course, Qiao Yan could see the situation clearly; the Tian family clan members on guard in the watchtower noticed this returning troop as well.
Even Qiao Yan, without any trained eyesight, could see a shadow darting towards the watchtower—clearly someone had gone to report the news.
“You’re not suggesting we attack again, are you?” Liang Zhongning gestured for the troops to halt, then saw that the walls in the distance were already bristling with bows and arrows again.
Clearly, the Tian family had prepared for his potential retreat, and the fortress now had a very orderly defense system in place. It was easy to imagine that a reckless attack would likely result in even more damage than last time.
Qiao Yan shook her head.
She certainly wouldn’t do something so foolish.
Since she said they’d trick them, she naturally needed to employ some clever tactics.
In front of Liang Zhongning’s gaze, Qiao Yan borrowed a sword from a soldier and drew a square shape on the ground, which perfectly mirrored the shape of the Tian Family Fortress ahead.
With the sword as her pen, she gradually marked the spots where arrows fell from the fortress onto her drawing.
The people inside the fortress were alert to what the Yellow Turbans were going to do, but Qiao Yan appeared to be overly relaxed.
With Liang Zhongning’s approval, she then led over two hundred men to circle around the fortress.
It was truly thanks to Liang Zhongning’s relentless efforts; in the two days before Qiao Yan arrived, he had meticulously tried to find a breakthrough outside the fortress, leaving many traces of battles behind.
When she returned to the previously drawn diagram after about a quarter of an hour, more lines had been added to the drawing.
Qiao Yan turned around and instantly noticed the impatience growing on Liang Zhongning’s face.
If it weren’t for the consideration of her undisguised identity as Zheng Xuan’s apprentice, he probably would have jabbed the newly replaced spear at her.
Little did he know, each mark that Qiao Yan made was a careful replica of the actual arrow falls, not some random doodling.
All he saw was that while Qiao Yan was doing this, someone in the distant watchtower gestured provocatively at him several times.
Qiao Yan caught this interaction and a trace of a barely noticeable smile crossed her lips, “If you’re feeling bored, General, how about you go over there and shout some insults from out of range?”
Liang Zhongning: “…?”
“Just joking.”
After saying these six words, she suddenly shifted from her previous relaxed demeanor, dropping her tone to show a seriousness beyond her years, “Now, let’s talk serious. I’d like to trouble you, General, to do two things for me.”
Liang Zhongning nodded, indicating for her to go ahead.
“Firstly, please select the skilled archers from the ranks and hand them over to me for arrangements.”
That was no trouble at all for him.
Qiao Yan paused and added, “Secondly, General, you said before that digging a tunnel to attack the fortress from below would be difficult, so—”
“How long would it take to dig a pit that’s deep enough for someone to fall in and not climb back out?”
